NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga gets 3 seed in loaded West Region

The Gonzaga Bulldogs find themselves in a loaded section of the bracket in their 24th straight men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.

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The Zags, ranked ninth in the most recent Associated Press poll, are the No. 3 seed in the West Region and will open play at 4:35 p.m. Friday in Denver against 14 seed Grand Canyon (televised on TruTV). But once you start looking ahead in the region, there is ample opportunity for marquee matchups for the Zags.

Like in the Sweet 16, where there could be a rematch of Gonzaga’s epic Final Four win two years ago over UCLA. The Bruins, who are ranked No. 2 in the AP poll but lost the Pac-12 Championship game Saturday 61-59 to No. 8 Arizona, are the second seed in the region.

In the other half of the West Region, No. 3 Kansas is the top seed, with No. 11 UConn the fourth seed and No. 16 Saint Mary’s – who shared the WCC regular season championship with Gonzaga – the fifth seed.

The West Region is set 🏀

The No. 1 seed is @KUHoops. pic.twitter.com/ypudCoxuzT

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 12, 2023

See the full NCAA Tournament bracket

Gonzaga goes into the tournament with a 28-5 overall record and on a nine-game win streak, most recently having blown out Saint Mary’s in the WCC Tournament title game 77-51 on March 7.

This campaign hasn’t seen the same kind of dominance that the Zags have been used to, as they suffered losses early in the season to No. 7 Texas, No. 5 Purdue and No. 10 Baylor, plus defeats in WCC play to Loyola Marymount (which halted Gonzaga’s 75-game home win streak) and Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga’s best non-conference wins came against No. 23 Kentucky, No. 11 Xavier and No. 4 Alabama.

Grand Canyon (24-11) finished fourth in the regular season standings in the WAC but won four straight games last week in the conference tournament – including against Seattle U – to earn the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lopes shoot 38.3% from 3-point land as a team and are paced on offense by guard Rayshon Harrison (17.7 points per game).

Senior forward Drew Timme, who set the Gonzaga school record for most career points last week, leads the Bulldogs with 20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Julian Strawther, a 6-foot-7 guard, adds 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and the Zags remain plenty deep thanks to players like forward Anton Watson and guards Rasir Bolton, Malachi Smith and Seattle native Nolan Hickman.

Women’s Basketball NCAA Tournament

While the Zags are the lone team from Washington state in the men’s bracket, both Gonzaga and Pac-12 Tournament champion WSU are in the women’s tournament.

WSU (23-10) is a No. 5 seed and will meet 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast next Saturday in Philadelphia.

THE COUGS ARE HEADING TO THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE!!!

The Cougs earn a No. 5 seed in the Greenville Region 2 in the NCAA Tournament and will take on No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast on Sat in Philadelphia!!!

More to come on https://t.co/NvoTkOwKbM#GoCougs | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/RTkSDQt6yf

— WSU Cougar Women's 🏀 (@WSUCougarWBB) March 13, 2023

Gonzaga (28-4) is headed to Stanford, Calif., on Friday as a No. 9 seed to face No. 8 seed Ole Miss (23-8).

Let’s ball 🤘 pic.twitter.com/yn2538bjOu

— Gonzaga Women's Basketball (@ZagWBB) March 13, 2023

Men’s NIT

The WSU men’s basketball team (17-16) will get some postseason action, and the Cougars’ opponent is certainly an interesting one: Eastern Washington (22-10), which will make the one hour, 20 minute drive from Cheney to Pullman’s Beasley Coliseum for an 8 p.m. Tuesday matchup in the first round of the NIT.

𝗡𝗜𝗧 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱🌾🏆

The Cougs are runnin' it back in the 2023 NIT Tournament as the No. 4 seed!#WAZZU earns back-to-back postseason berths for the fifth time in program history!

WSU will host Eastern Washington, Tuesday, March 14 at 8 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.#GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Uj3Ir9MxY2

— WSU Men's Basketball (@WSUCougarMBB) March 13, 2023

Timme sets Gonzaga scoring record, Zags routs Saint Mary’s for WCC title

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